Our barely-frigid winter is turning tail and running, with nary an “ice storm” or onslaught of freezing rain thrown at us all season. Though spring in Austin doesn’t mean the slow rebirth of nature like it does up north, March still brings good tidings like SXSW, the promise of sunny and beautiful days - not to mention a new season of concerts, shows, and all that jazz. Always on the ball, The Church of the Friendly Ghost is here to welcome March with a show on the 1st featuring a three-part show from notable local and far-off acts....

Arson may have damaged the studio that housed 91.7’s KOOP Radio, but they, and the Austin community at large, will be damned if they let the station go without a fight. Another benefit is happening this Saturday, presented by Church of the Friendly Ghost and Commercial Suicide, and taking the shape of Rick Reed’s 6th installment of the Toneburst series. Begun about two years ago, Toneburst is billed as “new and unusual experimental music from Austin and beyond...” and this will be its first show in The Salvage Vanguard Theater. ...

The Church of the Friendly Ghost is only scheduling two events this month, to make room for the No Idea Fest which starts on the 14th and goes through the 16th. But quality always makes up for quantity. The first of February’s Salvage Vanguard shows plans to be a doozy, with four acts starting at 9 p.m. ...

The Church of the Friendly Ghost’s forte is bringing its audience a range of new sounds, and this Friday night is no exception as four Texas experimental musicians will take the stage at the Salvage Vanguard Theater paired with artist LORI 16MM, who will be projecting a film and visual installation....

The Church of the Friendly Ghost is invading the Salvage Vanguard theater on a Tuesday this week, featuring performances from the E.C.F.A. trio and Attic Ted....

While every performance the Church of the Friendly Ghost puts on is assuredly special, this Wednesday evening they will host three diverse acts at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre sure to satisfy your every experimental, avant-garde whim. ...

Tonight at the Salvage Vanguard Theater, music and film will be united in odd, unexpected ways. Italian musician Giuseppe Ielasi and Austrian filmmaker Michaela Grill are the guests of honor at this event sponsored by the Church of the Friendly Ghost. Ielasi has a long history with improvised music and uses “guitars as primary sound sources by integrating microphones and multichannel speaker systems in order to create complex networks for sound diffusion in relation to space” according to this event's press release. Sounds confusing, but obviously far from typical. ...

Image from MySpace Ear to the UndergroundSunday, December 9Salvage Vanguard Theatre ()$5, 8pm-12am, BYOB[info] This Sunday, The Church of the Friendly Ghost and the Misc. Music label are banding together to bring new, mind-expanding music to the Salvage Vanguard Theatre. The event, called Ear to the Underground, begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends at 12:00 p.m. Four bands will be performing; Damage Pants and Aliens from Austin, and Make Your Own Maps with the painful-sounding......

Well kids, it's time for another installment of the COTFG series over at the Salvage Vanguard theater. This Sunday, as visual displays grace the entire evening, the crowd will be given a special treat: a film presentation by Miss 16mm, Yellow Crystal Star from Tallahasee, and Steve Marsh's RadarCave (among other things). Do something different: go support our truly experimental local artists and musicians. Yellow Crystal Star Radar Cave Loren Dent Necessity Quebron Lori 16mm......

Just how much do you know about local artist Daniel Johnston? Enough to play Captain America or Joe the Boxer on stage? Convincingly? If you happen to have two Johnston pieces in your repertoire, check out this little gem we spotted in the current issue of the Austin Chronicle: "After two wildly successful runs at Houston's Axiom last year, Jason Nodler's original rock opera Speeding Motorcycle, based on the life and music of Daniel Johnston,......

The Church of the Friendly Ghost continues to showcase the finest Austin has to offer in the experimental scene this Saturday at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road. The lineup this Saturday is fantastic for fans of minimalist ambient music as well as fuzzy, pedal-induced brainwave avante noise. Rick Reed, who mentioned before, uses old battered electronic devices like sine wave generators, short wave radios and a vintage EMS analogue synthesizers to achieve his......

Try something new tonight at the Church of the Friendly Ghost: Aurora Plastics, Xathax and Clear Spot will perform a variety of noise, experimental and ambient music and Paul Baker (Astral Projections) will provide a multimedia audio & visual experience for a mere $5. Church of the Friendly Ghost Night w/ Aurora Plastics, Xathax, Clear Spot & Paul Baker Tuesday, August 14 Salvage Vanguard Theater (2803 Manor Rd.) 8 PM $5 Aurora Plastics [MySpace]......

· Laura Cantrell performs two nights of her signature blend of country and folk at the Cactus Cafe. Her third album, Humming By The Flowered Vine, finds the Nashville-born singer again exploring themes of heartache, unrequited love and bittersweet nostalgia. "Letters", her cover of an old Lucinda Williams song, is particularly touching. As is "Khaki & Corduroy", which recounts her experience moving to New York and trying to find her way - she further articulates......

: : FRIDAY : : [music] Moretempo, 10pm-2am @ Copa - $5 [theatre] "Inside a Broken Clock: A Tom Waits Peepshow" @ Arts on Real (Through Saturday) [film] New Movies! @ your local theater [music] The Sad Accordions with Jim Yoshii Pileup, 10pm @ the Ritz [lecture] Gallery Tour of the Ansel Adams exhibit @ The Harry Ransom Center, 6pm - FREE! [art] Jerry Uelsmann and wife Maggie Taylor present their latest works, 6-9pm@......

Church of the Friendly Ghost will be hosting a Labor Day BYO food/drinks BBQ and show at their Eastside house today, starting at 7pm. The benefit concert - featuring local Whiskey and Apples labelmates Peter and the Wolf and Brian Beattie of Glass Eye, as well as Possessed by Paul James, Jon Crocker (from NC) and Ralph White - is raising funds to support the Hurricane Relief effort. Cash donations are appreciated, as are......

S A T U R D A Y music · Solomon & Tummler play their last show ever (members of Recover and Visitors), Mars Wars, Hockey Night, Pirates of Darkwater, LAX, plus DJ Shane at Emo's. 10pm [mp3s: Solomon & Tummler EP via MoreFizz] in-store · Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves at End of an Ear 6pm [mp3: Sally Crewe - Drive it Like You Stole It] party · Swerve Coffee Lounge celebrates its......

We might as well dub this the Week of the Dance Party - Emo's on Monday, Beerland on Tuesday, Flamingo Cantina on Wednesday, The Parish on Thursday, and - best of all - Gallery Lombardi on Friday. Check it out, and pace yourselves. As always, feel free to contact us with any hot tips! MONDAY [music] Church of the Friendly Ghost may have postponed shows at their awesome Eastside house, but they're still bringing great......

Some of Austinist's more sheltered friends are terrified of venturing to the Eastside. When we first moved here, we were innundated with warnings of how I-35 forms the border between the "good" part of town and the inner-city; to many of these aspiring suburbanites, venturing across the divide is to welcome certain doom. God, what twaddle. To our surprise and delight, we've found the Eastside to be a vibrant, culturally literate neighborhood that -......

Tomorrow, May 20th is the last night to sing and dance at Church of the Friendly Ghost (209 Pedernales). Make sure to stop by and show your support! As we relayed to you awhile back, COFG will no longer be able to host music due to a cease and desist letter filed by the neighborhood association. Dance party starts at 9:30: Darling New Neighbors (accordian disco punk) The Total Foxes Commune EK The Family......

Well, we are sad to relay that the rumors concerning the Church of the Friendly Ghost are in fact true... kinda. In a telephone conversation, Aaron Mace told us that while no formal charges had been filed against him (or the other tenants or property owners), a cease-and-desist letter filed by the neighborhood association would go into effect on May 21st. This means that all music performances at the Church have come to an......

FRIDAY [Music] Rilo Kiley 7pm @ Stubb's - $14 [Film] TriPartIte Film Festival (benefitting SafePlace) 8:30pm @ Jo's - Donations encouraged SATURDAY [Art] The Portrait Show: You Don't Know Us 7pm-11pm @ Camp Fig [Dance!] KVRX Prom Night w/ Clap!Clap! 8pm @ Iron Gate Studios - $5 [Music] Spring Fling for SafePlace 8pm @ Velvet Spade - $30 at the door [Art] The Works of Peter Beste 7pm-Midnight @ The Space (Beste will be in......

FRIDAY [fun] Austinist contributors Katie Spence & Reed Becker will be wandering around Austin's "financial district" wearing Ken Lay masks in support of the new documentary film, "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" - 2ish this afternoon [art] Tex-Mex Casserole Opening Party at Flux (new collaborative work from Dennis Hodges & Brandon Petree. 6-10) [music] Crack Pipes Record Release party at Beerland (with John Schooley & His One-man Band) [music] True Penny at El......